Federal stimulus money helped UCSD receive a record $1 billion in the past year for research, triggering a boom that’s expected to create more jobs and deepen scientists’ understanding of everything from sickle cell anemia to ocean currents.

The University of California San Diego remained one of the nation’s top 10 research colleges partly by tapping the stimulus program for $160 million, finding success in submitting grant proposals that target in-demand topics such as biotech and green technology. Scientists obtained funding to develop robots that detect oil spills and cell phones that double as microscopes, among other projects.

The stimulus windfall enabled UCSD to break its record for research money by about $119 million. It also benefited San Diego State University, which got $20 million of stimulus support and finished the fiscal year this week with a record $150 million.

“This will give the economy a boost over the short term, leading to people getting hired and buying homes and spending money,” said Alan Gin, an economist at the University of San Diego. “The $160 million UCSD got from the stimulus could cause a ripple that’s worth as much as $320 million to the economy.”

Much of the funding will be distributed over several years. The money will pay for a spectrum of jobs, from lab technicians who help decipher the behavior of genes to truckers who deliver the steel needed to construct buildings.

UCSD has more than doubled its research funding in the past decade, strengthening its standing as the county’s third-largest employer. The stimulus money offset some of the millions of dollars the campus was forced to cut because of the state’s budget crisis.

But the stimulus program is about to end.

“We don’t expect a big drop in research funding next year since our researchers will continue to seek funding aggressively,” said Art Ellis, vice chancellor for research at UCSD. “Our researchers have also been careful in their hiring practices, recognizing the short-term nature of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Gin said a drop in research dollars is possible, but notes that “UCSD has been focusing on areas that are being emphasized by the funding agencies, like the life sciences, biotech and green technology.”

UCSD officials said they submitted more than 1,000 proposals for stimulus money. About 25 percent of them were funded, matching the university’s success rate for non-stimulus proposals.

Geneticist Don Cleveland received federal financial support for his study of whether stem cells can be harnessed to slow down or even stop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Engineer Francesco Lanza di Scalea is using lasers to look for cracks in railway lines. Biologist Stephen Mayfield is leading a major effort to turn algae into biofuels.

The wide scope of these experiments stems from the university’s plans a half-century ago to become a research mecca.

“UCSD really focused on the sciences. It hired distinguished professors and it built a strong curriculum,” said Esmael Adibi, an economist at Chapman University in Orange.

“They made a name for themselves, which makes it easier to raise funding from the government and from private agencies, and it energizes the entire community and economy,” Adibi said. “UCSD should be admired for that.”